Eby on Safety and Security

--Vanessa Marino, Oakley, Saturday, October 20, 2007 - 3:36:00 P

Everyone talks about more police on the streets in order to make city neighborhoods safer. However, what would you ask these peace officers to do differently in order to be more effective? Do you think current policing techniques are adequate? Is it truly a matter of numbers?

My Response:

Safety and Security for all Cincinnatians is the over-riding issue affecting Cincinnati. To improve economic development and retain our citizen base, we must guarantee every citizen the right to live free from fear. A safe Cincinnati is key to attracting better jobs for our citizens, improving schools for our children, and creating better housing options for all. To achieve Safety and Security for our citizens we must combine a comprehensive vision with a strategic plan that results in real accountability to reduce crime.

It is my belief that for any public safety plan to be effective:

• It must generate collaboration between City government, the Police, and the Citizens of Cincinnati.
• It must be proactive rather than reactive
• It must take into account officer safety
• It must have measurable/reasonable goals
• It must take advantage of cutting-edge technology such as data mining and predictive behavior.
• It must be based on just enforcement, and accountability.

We must hold our elected leaders, our police, and ourselves accountable for creating a safer Cincinnati. I will continue to work tirelessly to develop clean, safe streets for all Cincinnatians. Please visit my website www.johneby.com and view my comprehensive plan for safety and security.

Pat Fischer on Safety

Safety is the top priority for Cincinnati. Crime can and must be reduced. Faith, not fear, should guide Cincinnati.

For far too long, Cincinnatians have been told that crime is on the rise and that there is nothing that can be done about it. I reject the defeatist attitude promoted by those who have given up on Cincinnati and its people. I believe that Cincinnati is a great city full of good hardworking people that can do anything they set their minds to do. Cincinnati needs that kind of faith on City Council.

As the President of Pleasant Ridge Community Council:

I implemented pinpoint policing that used computerized data mining and modeling to predict where crime would occur and then place the necessary resources there to prevent the crimes instead of investigating them. The program better used existing police resources to actually reduce crime.

I reduced crime in Pleasant Ridge without profiling. There were up to 70% fewer police runs. And there hasn’t been a murder in Pleasant Ridge since 2003.

I sought new and creative ways to tackle crime in my neighborhood. In doing so, we did something different in Pleasant Ridge. The result was lower crime. I want to bring my faith, leadership and innovative thinking to Cincinnati City Council so I can do for the City what I did in Pleasant Ridge. On City Council, I will push for the Cincinnati Police Department to adopt pinpoint policing. East Orange, New Jersey did it and its violent crime rate dropped 50% in one year. We need to be smarter about how we fight crime and use our resources as efficiently as possible. Pinpoint policing does just that and reduces crime without profiling. Local law enforcement already agrees with me.

I am proud to be endorsed by both the FOP and the Sentinels.

Fraternal Order of Police
Queen City Lodge #69

Sentinel Police Association PAC

www.PatFischer.org

John Eby on Safety and Security

Kent Evans, Hartwell asked:

I like the targeted policing idea. I think there are areas that just need a nudge to help them drive out lawless occupants resulting in seeding and establish viable “new” neighborhoods in the years which follow. The low-crime areas need targeted attention too, so as to ward off crime that tries to take a place after being driven out from other areas. The city needs to identify these areas which can be shot out of the economic cannon I envision. Finally the police need to engage those of us trying to achieve the same thing as them – lower crime. When given a plate number, they need to respond by saying they looked it up and do or do not see previous illegal activity tied to the registered owner, not become oblivious by saying they can’t divulge any info on plate numbers out of hand.

My Response:

Kevin this is a great question. I live in Westwood and I have experienced some of the same frustrations you describe. There is no doubt that the relationship between the police and community is symbiotic in nature. One cannot survive without the other. The larger issue of increasing safety and security in our city is really four separate issues intertwined. To increase safety and security we must revitalize our neighborhood business districts, bring 21^st century technology to our police department, demand quality educational opportunities for all and increase homeownership. As people are fond of saying, “We didn’t get in this shape overnight.” The road to recovery will be long and require a great deal of planning, collaboration and cooperation from all Cincinnatians.

Please visit my website - www.johneby.com -for my detailed, easy to understand plan for increasing safety and security in our city. Also, please visit Common Sense Cincinnati and investigate how Greg Harris and I are moving forward to address many of the issues you raise.

John Eby on Public Safety

Patrick Morrison, Finneytown asked

If the sales tax to fund a new jail is overturned by the voters on Election Day, what do you propose council does to deal with the shortage of jail space?

John Eby’s response:

If the vote on the comprehensive safety plan fails then the city and the county will be forced to sustain the status quo. That translates into continued early releases, few treatment programs, a high recidivism rate, and revolving door at the justice center. Does that sound like a cost effective and efficient way to create clean and safe streets in Cincinnati and Hamilton County?

At a minimum the Mayor, City Council, the Sheriff and the County Commissioners will have to come together to find a temporary and permanent solution to this very real problem. However, that solution cannot only consist of building a temporary or new jail. That proposal will fail and will continue fail in the future.

I’ve spoken about this often, but again we’re looking at the “AND” Principle. The solution has to address the issue of building a jail and reducing recidivism by providing opportunity. By that I mean opportunities for those in prison to leave a life of crime through job training, drug and alcohol treatment, mental health treatment, and educational programs. The resources to change people’s lives are within our reach, it is now a matter of bring them all together to work on the solution. Regional cooperation can no longer just be a campaign buzzword, it has to become reality. When elected to city council I pledge to work in a tri-partisan and regional manner to help increase safety and security in our community.

For more information about me visit www.johneby.com

Greg Harris on Public Safety

If the sales tax to fund a new jail is overturned by the voters on Election Day, what do you propose council does to deal with the shortage of jail space? --Patrick Morrison, Finneytown

First and foremost, we need to do everything in our power to ensure the Comprehensive Safety Plan is approved this November. It's a plan that will keep hardened criminals off the streets, but at the same time fully funds case management teams staffed with proven service providers from several disciplines (vocational, substance abuse, mental health, etc.) to assess and develop personalized intervention strategies and monitored re-entry programs for inmates entering the correctional system so as to dramatically reduce recidivism rates. Today, 7 out of 10 prisoners return to prison. Reducing these numbers will improve public safety, transform lives, and save taxpayers considerable expense.

If the plan fails, we will be forced to revert to a more costly, ineffective status quo that pays other counties to house our prisoners, and maintains facilities like the 107 Queensgate converted warehouse prison that contains no treatment programs.

Regardless if the levy passes, we can do more as a city and region to prevent incarceration. Last February I issued a plan built on innovative strategies to leverage existing federal, state, and local resources to increase educational, training and home ownership opportunities. It would tap over $400 million in available workforce investment and training funds in Ohio in support of strategies to:

• Tap Ohio's significant TANF reserves to fund vocational and certification opportunities in order to move people off public assistance into careers that fill major skills gaps in our region (healthcare, advanced manufacturing, etc.)


• Broker innovative partnerships between education providers such as Cincinnati-based Great Oaks, the largest career and technical center in the country, and the proven Fast Forward program targeting high school drop outs, with community organizations that serve as conduits to at-risk students and the working poor


• Work with local trade unions to expand minority participation in apprenticeship programs


• Cultivate an ownership society among Cincinnati's economically disenfranchised by
  converting more rent subsidies into ownership opportunities for low wage workers by bolstering Cincinnati's participation in the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program
  
• Work with regional partners and non-profits on more effectively directing Community Development Block Grant funds towards home ownership for low-wage workers


• Combat the high costs of being poor by working in partnership with effective consumer education non-profits like Smart Money in Over-the-Rhine to combat the fleecing of the working poor by check and go's; higher interest loans; and predatory lenders

John Eby : Safety and Security

The Editorial board Asked:

If you are elected, what will you consider the most important issue for the City council to address immediately?

My Response:

The overriding issue in this campaign is Safety and Security. We must create arts and entertainment districts. We must build the Banks. We must revitalize the core of the city. We must create a feeling that Cincinnati is safe. We must have clean safe streets. We must have family friendly neighborhoods or young professionals will not buy homes in the city. The safety and security of our citizens means we must combine new technology with stronger community relationships between the police and our citizens. New forms of technology would include data mining (predictive analysis). Data mining will allow our police department to effectively predict where and when crime may occur. Armed with this knowledge our police commanders can effectively deploy their resources to address and resolve crime. Digital ticketing will allow officers to perform traffic stops in less than 7 minutes. The time reduction will decreases offices exposure to roadside danger, decreases clerical errors, and increases the amount of time the officer is on the beat. Traffic safety, officer safety and community safety are all increased.

We must continue the work of the collaborative agreement as we have made strides in creating greater interaction, trust and mutual respect between our nationally recognized police department and our proud citizens. I will push for the creation of an auxiliary police force. I will return the neighborhood police officer. I will call for regular police and community meetings. We can build a Greater Cincinnati by combining the best of modern technology with the best Cincinnati tradition of hospitality in family friendly neighborhoods lined with clean safe streets. Please visit my website at www.JohnEby.com and see my easy to understand safety and security plan.